MovieChat Forums > Il grande silenzio (1969) Discussion > Really a 7.9?!

Really a 7.9?!

posted 17 years ago by ryankent_afi
19 replies | jump to latest

Don't get me wrong for one second, I liked this film and it's definately one of the better spaghetti westerns no doubt, and Klaus Kinski was wonderfully evil, but I found the 7.9 rating rather high myself.

Does anyone agree or do you think it deserves higher?

I'm not sure what I didn't like about it. It's hard to explain. Maybe it's the cold, isolated location? I don't see why this would have a higher rating than say, The Shooting (dir. Monte Hellman, 1967).

********SPOILERS************

That said I did enjoy the unhappy ending. It was different and unexpected to say the least.

Like I said, I did like it but I would have thought it more around the 7.3 mark.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] irishtom99 17 years ago

it had its moments--great story and music,some individual moments well photographed,and perfectly cast..but the actors posed more than they acted,the editing was sloppy,the dialogue was amatuerish and the overall photography was inconsistant,like it was from several different movies..it was certainly worth seeing,but corbucci ,throughout his career,didnt show good enough narrative skills nor strong enough production values to warrent being considered a master
director..provacative,sad and powerful ending...

[–] laslose99 17 years ago

I thought it deserves more than a 7.9. When I first started watching it I thought it was nothing special, but as it went along and the story came together it really won me over. And the ending had me stunned. Now about amateurish dialogue. I'm not sure if that is true. It seems like when they dub these movies into english they tend to change the dialogue sometimes, and it's never for the better. Django would be a good example. The english dub is just awful. Watch the end scene in the cemetery first in original italian w/english subs, then in the english dub. The original italian is so much more powerful.

[–] chevymangreg1989 16 years ago

I gave this movie a 10. It is my all time favorite spaghetti western. And for people giving it a 7/10 just for production and dialogue, I'd say you were underestimating it.

http://spaghettiwesterns.1g.fi/silenzio/silenzio.htm

This critic has The Great Silence at 100% score and at the top of his list of westerns. OVER THE LEONES. There is also a small section about the dialogue. If you have any interest in Spaghetti Westerns or a semi-pro evaluation of this movie head to that website, it's one of the best.

[–] Mrmojo4700 (20441) 3 years ago

Super old post but I had to comment. I watched Django in Italian for the first time recently and it was a massive game changer. The Dialogue was, in many key parts, so powerful compared to the English translation. I always loved Django but felt the dialogue was weak, and now I’ll only watch it in Italian. I hope I have a similar experience if I can watch The Great Silence in the same way.

[–] Mrmojo4700 (20441) 3 years ago

“Watch the end scene in the cemetery first in original italian w/english subs, then in the english dub. The original italian is so much more powerful.”
This is the reason why I searched out The Great Silence on DVD with Italian language option.

[–] markmc-3 17 years ago

I disagree, I gave the GS a 10. Right up there with For a Few $s More.

[–] MovieWiz66 17 years ago

I say it is rated about right. While I enjoyed the movie very much,especially the breathtaking scenery and cinematography,I dont think it beats "The Shooting" by Hellman. That was such a strange movie that leaves you wondering and wanting to watch it again. Young Jack Nicholson and the always underrated Warren Oates were terrific in that one. Still,this movie kept ya guessing and is well worth watching if you havent seen it. I still dont think it tops Leone though..no way!

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] clockwork_orange2001 17 years ago

Don't get me wrong for one second, I liked this film and it's definately one of the better spaghetti westerns no doubt, and Klaus Kinski was wonderfully evil, but I found the 7.9 rating rather high myself.

Does anyone agree or do you think it deserves higher?

I'm not sure what I didn't like about it. It's hard to explain. Maybe it's the cold, isolated location? I don't see why this would have a higher rating than say, The Shooting (dir. Monte Hellman, 1967).

********SPOILERS************

That said I did enjoy the unhappy ending. It was different and unexpected to say the least.

Like I said, I did like it but I would have thought it more around the 7.3 mark.

I agree. I thoroughly enjoyed it myself, but believe it should really be more in the mid 7's (7.3-7.5). Reason why it's rated so high is because it has few votes, when compared to other films which have 10k or even 50k votes! So the limited people that have watched this obscure movie, are likely spaghetti western enthusiasts, who likely gave it anywhere between an 8 to a 10. If this were a Sergio Leone or Clint Eastwood movie, then more people would be exposed to it. And with a broader audience, not all western movie fans, many may give it low ratings.....bringing down the overall rating.

"I think that silent films got a lot more things right than talkies." --Stanley Kubrick

[–] Sleazy_E 16 years ago

yeah it deserves at least an 8 or maybe 8.5. But i think django deserves more.

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[–] Steffi_P 16 years ago

What makes The Great Silence stand out is the way it reverses the myths of the spaghetti western, casting the amoral bounty hunters as the villains, and then utterly destroying the notion of the indestructable hero (a la Django) at the ending. This is all brillaintly set up with the snowy location and the imagery of death and desperation.

But yes it is still a cheap-and-cheerful exploitation production with many technical flaws - shoddy camerawork, clunky dialogue etc.

Just for the record, I gave it a 9.

A word on the dubbing - it's impossible really to say what the "original" language is, as with these European productions with actors of various nationalities, everyone had their own language scripts and spoke their own language on set.

In the case of The Great Silence, Vonetta McGee and Frank Wolff (the sheriff) were American, and dub their own voices. Klaus Kinski was German but he spoke good English and is clearly speaking English on set although he was dubbed by an American, and of course Trintignant doesn't speak at all. I would say therefore that the English language version is the most authentic, although some might disagree as the original screenplay was written by Italians.

Compare that to Django, where all the actors are either Italian or Spanish, and the English dub is absolutely terrible.

[–] Conspirator_Slash 16 years ago

Higher. It's maybe the best non-Leone western!

[–] chrisasiama 16 years ago

I saw the Great Silence for the first time last night. I appreciated the story and the way Corbucci subverted some common western tropes but the shoddy production values marred the experience. The camera work in particular was really shoddy and so was the editing but then again, as a fan of Spaghetti Westerns I don't really expect all of them to have great production values as long as the rest of it is good I don't mind.

I actually prefer Django to this even though that movie had the ridiculous ending where the hero defies impossible odds. I also thought Klaus Kinski was better in For a few Dollars More as his character was more interesting with his little facial twitches and hunchback.

Despite having an interesting story I felt the pacing in The Great Silence was off and the characters didn't actually do much. The setting was great though and it really complemented the films bleak outlook and created some much needed atmosphere.

I thought the Great Silence was an interesting but flawed film that probably gets better on the second or third viewing.

[–] A_Fistful_of_Pennies 15 years ago

I hate to knock this movie for its editing and other technical issues, but that really does take away from the movie. It would have been a truly great film if those areas were improved.

Perhaps Leone has spoiled me in terms of old Spaghetti westerns. His movies, even the earlier ones with a lower budget, truly looked incredible. Don't get me wrong, this was a good movie with a great story, but its look is a bit underwhelming at times and it kind of ruins the mood at times.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] TheEnigmaticRonin 15 years ago

Its overrated maybe a 7.1 or 6.9.
Kinski is the only character well devolped, Protagonist didn't have enough screentime, and since he wasn't supposed to talk, made it even more difficult to understand his character, and that black lady was a dumb character, things she said, or did made no freakin sense.

but the atmosphere of the film is really well captured, Kinski was awesome, and Morricone's music was excellent.

" Look, there's two women fuc*ing a polar bear!" - Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas 1998

[–] 15 years ago

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